


The Abusive Bat - AU

by Aprotny



Category: Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Big Brother Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, Child Abuse, Dick Grayson is Robin, Graphic Description, Hurt Dick Grayson, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Project Cadmus, Protective Jason Todd, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Young Dick Grayson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2019-09-25 20:17:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 10,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17128058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aprotny/pseuds/Aprotny
Summary: Starting with the very first night Dick lived with Bruce, he wanted out. With the help of the Red Hood, he might have a way. But that way involves convicting Bruce and getting in with the heroes, and Dick isn't sure he's capable of what Jason seems to think he is. Does he have what it takes to get out? What will happen once he does? Dick is sure of one thing: this won't all be for nothing.





	1. June 13th, 2005

**Author's Note:**

> Richard “Dick” Grayson - 8  
> Bruce Wayne - 26

****June 13th, 2005** **

Dick opened the window quietly. It was his first night in the manor. Already, he wanted out.

He calculated the distance to the tree outside his window and prepared to flip over there.

Before he could, a rough hand grabbed his arm.

“Going somewhere?” Bruce’s breath was hot on Dick’s neck. He yanked the boy off the windowsill and closed and locked the window.

“Um…” Dick recognized the tone, but not the words.

“Look me in the eyes when I speak to you, boy!”

Dick looked up at the shout. He saw an emotion enter Bruce’s eyes that he didn’t fully understand. All he knew was that it meant danger.

Gulping, he tried to back away, but Bruce still had a firm grip on his arm.

The man dragged his eight-year-old ward to the bed in the room and handcuffed the child’s right wrist to the bedpost. He then climbed on top of him.

“Bruce…” Dick began, but Bruce silenced him with his lips.

Dick struggled as Bruce began to undress him. He was finding it hard to breathe. He wanted to scream, yet he knew no one would hear him. The Manor was too isolated.

As Bruce’s hands ran up and down his naked body, Dick’s mind practically stuttered to a halt. He didn’t understand what was happening, but every instinct in him was screaming “Bad! Get away!” and he was beginning to panic.

The event seemed to last forever. Finally, Bruce got off of him and murmured in a satisfied voice, “This will be our little secret.”

The words might’ve been a mystery to Dick, but he got the gist. He wasn’t to tell anyone.

And he was terrified.


	2. September 29th, 2005

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Richard “Dick” Grayson - 8  
> Red Hood - 13

**September 29, 2005**

 

Dick never wanted to go back. After months of carefully calculating Bruce’s routine, taking note of the times he was and wasn’t in the Manor, being only able to leave the Manor first to go to a private tutor who taught him English and recently to go to school, he had finally managed to sneak out.

Happily flipping from one rooftop to the next, he celebrated his newfound freedom. He was determined not to be cooped up again. He was wearing a turtleneck sweater and slacks and had slung a backpack filled with his most valuable belongings over his shoulders. He paused on top of a taller building to take in the view. He was really far from Wayne Manor and really close to where his parents had been killed.

He was about to take off again when someone grabbed the back of his sweater.

“You know, kid, the rooftops are pretty visible. You’d be better off staying in the alleys if you don’t want the Bat to get ‘ya.”

Dick squirmed, barely managing to get a glimpse of a teen with a red helmet and leather jacket.

The teen pulled him down into an adjacent alley before finally looking him in the face.

He did a double take. “Wait a second. You’re Richard Grayson, Bruce Wayne’s ward.”

“W-what about it?” Dick whimpered.

Even though the teen’s face was hidden behind a helmet, Dick knew he was grinning. “I could catch a high ransom for you.”

And that was the last thing Dick heard before the butt of a gun knocked him out.


	3. September 30th, 2005

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Richard “Dick” Grayson - 8  
> Red Hood - 13

Dick awoke to the sound of someone cursing and kicking stuff.

“H-hello?” He whimpered. A teen entered his line of vision. He was no longer wearing a helmet, revealing his face and brunette hair with a strip of white, but Dick could tell it was the same teen as before. He had the same leather jacket.

“You’re in over your head, aren’t you, Richard?” The teen asked, running a hand through his hair.

“W-what do you mean?” Dick replied.

The teen lifted him into a sitting position. Dick noticed with a start that his sweater was gone. Looking down at himself, he was relieved to see that the teen had yet to take his pants off.

“Relax. I only took off your sweater when I noticed the hickeys. You’re covered in them.” The teen let out of huff of air. “He’s raping you, isn’t he?”

“What’s ‘raping’... and ‘hickeys’?” The teen looked shocked at his question. “I don’t know English very well.”

The teen growled slightly. “Rape is when someone takes advantage of you sexually without your consent. Hickeys are those things.” He pointed to a hickey on Dick’s chest. “Caused when someone sucks at your skin.”

“I’m sorry. Haven’t heard the word ‘sexually’ before either.” Dick curled in on himself slightly at the teen’s angry expression.

“Answer me this, then. Why don’t you want to go back?” The teen asked, taking a deep breath as if to calm himself.

“How’d you know I don’t want to go back?”

“It’s why you were out at night in the first place, I’m guessing.”

“Bruce…” Dick hesitated, wondering how to word it. “He hurts me… makes me feel bad in my own body. I don’t like him. He’s mean. And he hits me when I speak Romani.”

The teen nodded in understanding. “Listen, Richard. I can’t keep you hidden forever, but I can try to help you. The only way I can think of to get you out of Bruce’s grip… forever, is to get you in with the heroes. I can teach you to fight, and give you everything you need to get evidence that Bruce is doing this to you, but I can’t get you away from him permanently. Not on my own, at least.”

“Who are you?” Dick asked. He then flinched. “I’m sorry. Please don’t hurt me for asking.”

The teen laid a gentle hand on Dick’s shoulder. “I’m a street kid. I go by Red Hood when running around. But we’re going to be partners now, so you might as well know my name. It’s Jason Todd.”

“Th-thank you… Jason.”

“You need another name too. A nickname that people will know you by when you’re wearing a mask and slipping into the hero community.”

“A nickname?”

“Yeah."

“My Mami always called me her little… I think it’s ‘robin’ in English.”

“Robin. I like that. Let’s get to work, Robin. We need to use our time wisely.”


	4. November 18th, 2005 (Part One)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part one of a two-part chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Richard “Dick” Grayson/Robin - 8  
> Jason Todd/Red Hood - 13

“Again.” Dick looked up at Jason from his spot on the floor, his expression one of exhaustion. Jason sighed. “The Bat won’t go easy on you if he catches you. Neither will Bruce. We need to build your stamina. So run it again.”

Dick slowly pushed himself up, wobbling slightly. Once he was on his feet, he jogged over to the start of the makeshift course.

Like the last few times, Jason started it without warning, firing rubber bullets at the younger boy to imitate criminals. Dick dodged, flipped, and fought his way to the last obstacle before one of the rubber bullets hit him. He stumbled when it did, but rolled back onto his feet and completed the course.

“That was your best one yet,” Jason said, tossing Dick a water bottle. “You’re improving.”

Dick grinned. He’d come to cherish the praise from Jason. It was, in a way, the only positive reinforcement he got in his day-to-day life. Well, he didn’t see Jason every day, since it was hard to sneak out and all. But those days he did see him were good days.

“Dick, I’m going to ask something of you tonight. Please say no if you don’t think you’re capable of it.”

Dick tilted his head. “What wouldn’t I be capable of? What does capable mean again?” His English was improving, but still wasn’t perfect.

Jason took a deep breath. “Capable. Able to do.” He walked over to his bag and fished out a device. Dick watched him as he returned to his side. “I want you to set this up in your room. With a clear view of your bed, but hidden where Bruce won’t see it.”

“What does it do?” Dick asked, examining the device.

“It’s a video camera. It’ll stream visuals and audio straight to my computer. So we can collect evidence against Bruce.”

Dick nearly dropped the device. He looked at Jason with wide eyes. “It’ll reboard everything?”

“Record. And yes. But you’d have to be willing to give up your bedroom privacy. I’ll filter out anything that happens when Bruce isn’t in there, so it’ll just be me seeing everything. I’m not going to force you. Just… when you think you’re ready. I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it necessary.”

Dick frowned at the camera before putting it in his own bag. “I’ll think about it. Can we do some hacking now please?”

Jason smiled at Dick’s request. The boy had taken to hacking like a rabbit to a carrot. Why he loved it so much, Jason didn’t know, but at least something made the kid happy in the bleak world they were both living in.

“Snack first. Then hacking,” he replied, pulling out some sandwiches he’d saved from a soup kitchen he’d visited earlier.

Dick devoured his and waited quite impatiently for Jason to finish eating.

“Gee, Kid. You seem eager for something, what might that be?”

“Jason!”

“I’m just teasing. Laptop’s in my bag. First test is to see if you can get into it. I encrypted the passcode.”

Dick grinned and raced to Jason’s bag, almost ripping it in his eagerness to retrieve the laptop.

“Hey! Easy on the bag! I only have one of those!” Jason scolded, although a stranger could tell he was trying to keep the laughter out of his voice.

Dick didn’t respond, already through the first layer of coding.

“Damn. You type fast, Birdie.” Jason said when, five minutes later, Dick had finished every test Jason had set up for him. “Hey! What did I say about hacking the Justice League?!”

Dick half-giggled, half-cackled. “Not my fault their security is lame. Besides, I’m just upgrading their firewalls.”

“You amuse me to no end.” Jason rolled his eyes. Then, he tensed and hissed, “Someone’s coming!”

He grabbed both his and Dick’s bags and then dragged the younger boy into a hiding spot. Dick was still clutching the laptop. Jason closed it so the light from the monitor wouldn’t give them away.

“...sneaking out when I’m out,” A voice, somewhat familiar, was saying, “I want to know where he’s going. Can’t have my pet wandering the streets at night.”

“We’ll keep an eye out for him, sir.”

“Keeping an eye out isn’t good enough. Find him. Figure out what he’s up to. The boy’s eight. He can’t outsmart us that easily.”

“Yes sir!”

“Get on it if you don’t want to end up like my butler. I can’t have anyone supporting that boy’s activities.”

“Understood, sir!”

Jason put a hand over Dick’s mouth as they heard a door open and close. They weren’t out of the woods yet.

“Ronaldo, get that new shipment locked away and sedated. I want it ready to be sent out by midnight.”

“Understood, Batman.”

Jason’s eyes widened. Batman? Uh oh. Sounded like they were in over their heads. He thought hard. He couldn’t let Dick get caught and he couldn’t just do nothing. They were sitting ducks if they stayed put. Surely there was a way to stop the trafficking shipment and protect Dick?

He peeked out a crack in the wood hiding them. It was clear. He’d need to do something now if at all.

“Robin, are you still hacked into the JL’s mainframe? If not, how fast can you do it? I want you to send a trackable alert to draw them to this location. Quickly and quietly, got it?” He felt Dick nod silently under the hand still covering his mouth. Jason pulled his Red Hood helmet out of his bag and whispered a couple last instructions before putting the helmet on and his plan into action. “Once you’re done, keep hidden. Don’t try to get out unless you can do so without being seen, and don’t answer to your real name. Also, put on a domino mask. Now.”

Dick dug in his bag for a domino mask as Red Hood darted silently out from the hiding spot, moving across to another one. He glanced back to see Dick securing the mask to his face and then opening the laptop back up.

Now or never.

He threw a rock and, as soon as it drew attention, raced for the door.

“Hey!” Some of the goons had spotted him. Perfect. Hopefully he could keep them distracted long enough.

He pretended to stumble, then dodged when some goons lunged at him. The chase went on for a while.

Finally, Batman took notice and boomed, “Enough!”

The bat flung a batarang into Red Hood’s path. The momentum prevented the kid from stopping short and he tripped over it. It exploded, sending Red Hood flying. He hit the wall and then the ground with a disturbing _smack thud_.

Batman grabbed him by the cuff of his shirt and shoved a syringe into the side of his neck. “A bonus for the shipment, it seems.”

Red Hood’s vision faded to black as Batman emptied the syringe into his veins.

“Leave him alone!”


	5. November 18th, 2005 (Part Two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay. I planned for this chapter to be longer but it didn't end up that way. Oh well. Here's the conclusion of the day begun in the previous chapter. Enjoy.

“Stay still, you little brat!” 

Robin wasn’t sure exactly what he’d been thinking when he’d abandoned his hiding place. Red Hood had said to keep hidden, but when Robin had seen his friend get captured... 

Maybe he hadn’t thought. He’d just did.

And now it was taking all of his energy and skill just to keep himself from getting captured as well.

At least he’d managed to take down half the bad guys in the process. How he’d managed that was beyond him.

He deflected a batarang with a rod he’d found, but it exploded, sending him stumbling.

He quickly regained his footing, but he was surrounded.

“Give up!” Batman roared. “You’re outnumbered!”

Robin prepped himself for another fight when a sound that hurt his ears traveled through the room. Fortunately, it hurt the ears of those around him too.

While the crooks were disoriented, Robin fought the sound to get to the wall of the building. He put his back to it and looked around to see the crooks trying to recover, but unable to because the Justice League had arrived.

Smoke filled the room. Robin coughed and looked up to see Batman looming over him.

“You ruined my operation.” The supervillain growled. “You’re coming with me.”

Robin felt himself freeze up as he recognized Bruce’s voice beneath Batman’s. He tried to fight but Batman bent the rod he’d been using to defend himself, ripped it out of his hands, and tossed it aside. He then reached for Robin, but Superman knocked him aside and scooped up the boy instead.

When the smoke cleared, Batman had retreated with those of his men that remained. The kids he’d been planning to ship had been left behind except for one.

Robin felt his breath catch. Batman had taken Red Hood.


	6. November 21st, 2005

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dick Grayson - 8  
> Jason Todd - 13  
> Bruce Wayne/Batman - 26

All sources led to the forbidden study. 

Dick stood frozen in front of the door. After he had fled the scene while the Justice League was occupied with the police, he’d searched various known Batman hideouts secretly to try to find Jason.

Bruce’s study was his last lead. He had to do this. He had to.

Gulping and trying to steady his nerves, he slowly cracked open the door. No one inside. Good. He could get to investigating.

He held the camera Jason had given him in his hand, streaming straight to wherever it streamed. He’d recorded Bruce raping him last night without the elder’s knowledge. One recording should be enough proof for that, right?

Mostly, he’d brought the camera with him for comfort’s sake. As long as it was streaming, he didn’t feel like he was taking on this challenge alone.

He slipped through the door and closed it behind him.

The study was empty. Dick took shaky steps over to the desk. Standing on his tiptoes, he peeked at the documents on the table.

His previous intuition that Bruce was Batman was correct, at least according to the documents.

He steeled himself and looked around the room carefully, looking for something out of place. The grandfather clock’s hands were not on the correct time. That had to be a clue of some sort.

He took another look around the room. In a drawer, he found a death certificate for Bruce’s parents, and one for someone named Alfred Pennyworth. Apparently, Mr. Pennyworth had worked for the Wayne family before his unfortunate demise, which had been blamed on Batman.

Dick reread that. Bruce had killed his own butler?

He heard a whirring sound and swiftly hid himself under the ottoman in the study. The grandfather clock slid aside and Bruce came out, wiping some sort of red liquid off his hands.

Blood. Dick felt a chill go down his back. Had Bruce killed someone else? Had he killed Jason before Dick could rescue him?

Bruce exited the study. “Richard! I know what you’ve been up to! You better be in your room when I get there!”

Dick’s eyes widened. Uh oh.

He slipped out from under the ottoman when the door closed. Bruce fortunately hadn’t noticed the camera the boy had accidentally left on his desk.

Dick grabbed the camera and raced to the grandfather clock, slipping through just before it closed. A dark passageway greeted him.

Using a wall to guide himself, Dick followed the passageway down, down, down. He knew he didn’t have long before Bruce figured out he was gone. It was too late in the day for him to be at school, but too early for Bruce to be home if he’d gone to work that day, which Dick assumed he hadn’t.

Finally, a light at the end of the tunnel, Dick emerged in a large cavern, bats screeching high above him. He hid in a crevice to let some batgrunts pass by before darting from crevice to crevice recording the entire room. At the far end of the room, Jason was tied up by his wrists. Blood was oozing out of wounds on his chest and back, but he was alive. His eyes widened when he saw Dick and he looked around wildly for anyone who might try to capture the boy. 

Dick ducked into a hiding space as he heard a booming voice echo through the cavern.

“Everyone get over here now!”

All the batgrunts hurried in the direction of Bruce. Dick waited for them all to be out of immediate sight before scurrying over to Jason and picking the locks on the cuffs holding him up.

Jason fell, but managed to land near silently.

He grabbed Dick by the arm and pulled him towards a tunnel.

“But the other kids!” Dick hissed under his breath.

“No time! He’ll kill both of us if he catches you down here!” Jason replied just as quietly.

Dick dug his feet in. “No.”

Jason looked helplessly at him. “Please…”

“Go without me. Run. Get help. I won’t leave them.”

“Now’s not the time to play hero.”

“I heard voices this way!”

Dick and Jason stared at each other for a moment before Dick scurried into a hiding spot and Jason ran.

“I’ll be back for you…” Dick barely heard Jason vow. “That’s a promise.”

“The helmet kid’s gone!” A batgrunt shouted.

“Lock off all exits! My pet’s in here somewhere and I don’t want him getting away!”

As the last exit locked down, Dick knew he was screwed, but still stayed hidden.

The batgrunts scoured every hiding place. Just as Dick thought he was in the clear, a hand grabbed his arm and yanked him into the open. The eight-year-old yelped. It echoed.

“Nice try, pet.” Bruce growled. He took note of the camera. “What might this be?” He snatched the camera and crushed it with his free hand. He then handed it to a batgrunt. “Make sure everything he recorded with this is completely wiped and destroyed.”

“What are you gonna do with the kid? Surely you have a contingency plan for if he found out.” A batgrunt, no, a batexec, inquired.

“Of course I do. I’m setting it into action immediately. Call Dr. Desmond and ask for a rendezvous point. I’ll get my pet ready for travel.”

Dick gulped. He didn’t know who Dr. Desmond was, but he didn’t think he was a pediatrician.

Bruce carried Dick by the arm over to a table with child-sized cuffs and dried blood on it. He restrained the boy to the table and grabbed a hot branding iron shaped like a bat from where it sat with its tip in flaming coal.

He grunted and grabbed the fingers on Dick’s right hand, using them to smooth out the skin on the back of said hand.

“No! Please don’t…” The tip of the branding iron was digging into his hand before he could say anything else. He screamed.

“Just to show you’re a special pet, I’m going to do both hands.” Bruce sneered.

Dick tried to flinch away as Bruce repeated his actions on Dick’s left hand, but the cuffs prevented him from moving.

“And one more.” Bruce turned to two batgrunts waiting nearby. “Flip him and pull up his shirt.”

Dick struggled weakly as the batgrunts obeyed. The branding iron pressed into him one last time in the middle of his back, right above his waist.

“Get me a syringe of the fear sedative. 8 milligrams.”

“Yes sir.”

Dick tried desperately to get free as Bruce approached with the syringe.

“Have you ever heard of Scarecrow’s Fear Gas, pet? I did him a favor, so he gave me the recipe. Let me tell you, it’s much more vivid when mixed with sedative. Enjoy.”

Bruce emptied the contents of the skin straight into Dick’s veins.

Then, Dick’s family was falling off the broken trapeze. And Jason was falling with them.


	7. Unknown Date, over a year later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dick Grayson - 9  
> Dr. Desmond - 39

Dick looked up slowly as his cell door creaked open. Bruce had just come yesterday, so he knew he wasn’t coming again today.

Dr. Desmond stood in the doorway. The man was almost as bad as Bruce. No, they were equal in badness. Bruce supplied the kids Dr. Desmond experimented on. However, Dick knew there were worse fates for kids who fell into Bruce’s hands. Some of them were killed and their organs harvested.

But was death really a worse fate? It meant less pain and…

“Get up! On your feet!” Dr. Desmond snapped, interrupting his thoughts.

Dick pushed himself off the ground and unsteadily rose to his feet. A g-gnome leaped onto his shoulder and Dick found his mind clouding up as genomorphs unchained him and he followed Dr. Desmond to the lab unwillingly. Once they reached the lab and he was locked in, the g-gnome leaped off his shoulder and let the scientists do the rest.

It was the same old routine, a routine only shaken up by Bruce’s infrequent and usually sudden visits.

In the lab, the scientists checked his health and vitals before cuffing him to a dentist’s chair. Dick didn’t struggle. Struggling or even trying to escape only delayed the inevitable. Sometimes he needed the delay just to stay sane. Most of the time, he just let it be and allowed them to do what they wanted to him.

His internal mantra of “Jason will find me. Jason will save me.” had shriveled after several months in this place.

As much as he tried not to lose hope, he knew he’d be here a very long time, if not till the day he died.

The tests and experiments began and he let his mind wander to happier times. Times with his parents, aunt, uncle, and cousin at the circus. Sometimes even times training with Jason. Anything was better than the here and now.


	8. October 8th, 2007

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red Hood - 15  
> Commissioner James Gordon - 46

Red Hood put his feet up on Commissioner Gordon’s desk and waited for the man to come back from whatever crisis warranted his attention.

As he waited, his mind wandered. The other night, he had gotten a recording of Batman admitting he knew where Richard Grayson was, as well as stating “the kid’s not my property anymore. I gave him away so that he would never reach the police. In exchange, I get to go visit him every once in a while.”

Red Hood scowled. Batman disgusted him. Preying on a child Dick’s age just because he could. Admittedly, Dick was a cute child, but that was no excuse for Batman’s behavior. No child should have to go through what Dick was going through and had gone through. It was a miracle the kid was still alive, really.

The door to the office opened and Commissioner Gordon froze in the doorway.

“Hello Commissioner,” Red Hood grinned. Commissioner Gordon reached for his gun.  Red Hood shot it out of his hand and tutted. “None of that now. I’m here to propose a deal that could really benefit you!”

Commissioner Gordon grit his teeth. The gunshot had brought several officers running.

“And what, might I ask, is this supposed deal?”

Red Hood stood from the Commissioner’s chair and leaned across the desk. “I have information and evidence that could take down the Bat. Do something for me, and it’s all yours.”

Commissioner Gordon took a moment to process that. “Evidence that could take down the Bat, you say?”

“Yep. All I ask for in return is Richard Grayson brought to me safe and sound, unharmed.”

“You want a kid?!” One of the detectives yelped.

Commissioner Gordon held up a hand, indicating he’d handle it.

“Why do you want Richard Grayson?”

Red Hood scowled. “He’s like a younger brother to me. And Batman has taken him and abused him. I want him brought back here safely. And not returned to Bruce Wayne.”

“I’m not sure I can…”

“Then no evidence for you.” Red Hood jumped on the window sill, preparing to leave.

“Wait!” A detective cried.

Commissioner Gordon silenced him with a look. “How do we know you’re not bluffing about the evidence?”

“You don’t. But you have no better leads to take down Batman.”

Commissioner Gordon stared at him. “Richard Grayson has been missing for nearly two years. No one knows where he is.”

“That’s your problem. I’ve proposed my terms. Either you get him for me, or you’re down on your luck.” Red Hood leaped out the window and fled into the night.


	9. Unknown date, over two years later

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Richard “Dick” Grayson - 12  
> Project Kr/Superboy - 17 weeks

Somewhere to hide. Where could he hide?

Dick was running. He knew he couldn’t get out, but maybe he could get a short reprieve? He made it up to sub-level 52 from sub-level 55, but could hear them catching up. He dove into a room that happened to be open and hid behind a pillar.

He could hear them searching the room and silently begged any higher power that would listen not to let him be found.

“Project Kr, have you seen a young boy with black hair come through here?” Dr. Desmond inquired.

Dick’s breath hitched. Had someone been in here? Had a genomorph or someone seen him?

“No,” Someone, probably Project Kr, replied.

Dr. Desmond cursed and left the room.

Heavy footsteps approached Dick. His breath hitched again.

“Don’t ask why I covered for you. I don’t know.” Dick stayed quiet as Project Kr entered his line of vision.

Project Kr stared at him, and he stared at Project Kr. Project Kr looked to be a teenager, but Dick knew he was much, much younger than that.

“Do you have a name?” Project Kr asked in an attempt to break the staring contest.

It worked. Dick looked away. “Richard.” His voice was hoarse from screaming and lack of actual speaking use.

“Why are you hiding, Richard?”

Tears came to Dick’s eyes. “I… I…”

“Is it something I said?”

“No. It’s just been so long since anyone’s been nice to me.”

A brief lapse of silence came and went.

“So are you hiding because you’re scared? You certainly looked scared when you entered the room.”

“I… I don’t want to be tortured or raped today…”

“What do you mean by ‘raped’? I’ve never heard that word before.”

“Rape is when someone abuses you sexually and without your consent. It’s traumatizing…”

“And you experience this traumatizing event often?”

“Yes.”

Another brief lapse of silence.

“I don’t want to go back. I want to be rescued. I want Red Hood to find me.”

“Who’s Red Hood?”

“He’s my older brother, sorta. We’re not bio… from the same mom or dad, but we’ve ado… adove… chosen to be brothers. He’s looking for me, I know he is, but I… I dunno if he’ll find me in time.” Dick paused. “Kr? Can you promise me something?”

“It’s Superboy,” Project Kr corrected.

“Okay. Superboy, can you promise me something?”

Superboy was quiet a moment. “What is it?”

Dick gulped. “You have a better chance of getting out of here than I do. If I die, can you del... delib... give someone this message for me?”

Superboy thought about it. The way Richard put it, this could be his dying wish. And something told Superboy that Richard deserved to have his wish met.

“What’s the message? And who do I deliver it to?” He looked Dick in the eyes.

Dick gave a small smile. “The message is ‘The wings of a bird have broken’. Please find Red Hood and give him that message. ‘The wings of a bird have broken’”.

“How will I know who Red Hood is?”

“He’ll be the only one to understand the message. You can do it. You’ll find him. Somehow. Do you promise?”

“I have another promise. I won’t leave you here. If I ever get out, I’m taking you with me, no matter what condition you’re in. I promise to keep my word in both cases.” Superboy looked away. “It’s what Superman would do.”


	10. July 4th-5th, 2010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kid Flash - 15  
> Superboy - 35 weeks  
> Aqualad - 16  
> Richard “Dick” Grayson - 13

It had been over four months since Superboy had met Richard. 

He’d only seen the boy twice since then and the small boy had been beaten each time they were discovered together. Even without the beatings, it was obvious Richard was getting really weak and wouldn’t last much longer.

After their third meeting, the Cadmus execs started locking Superboy in his pod at night, making visits with Richard impossible.

It was to this situation that hope came. Superboy found himself waking from a controlled stupor to find himself standing in front of two teenage boys locked in cloning pods.

They tried to reason with him to get him to release them, but Superboy was too stunned at the turn of events to actually get around to freeing them until one phrase hit him.

“What would Superman do?”

What would Superman do? Superman would save both them and Richard, and this was his one chance to do so.

He stormed back to the room he’d just been forced to leave and freed the two teenage boys, after which they made a run for it.

“Why are you going down?” One asked frantically as they kept pace with him.

“There’s someone who needs rescue more than I do.”

They were almost to Richard’s cell when Superboy caught sight of the boy in a different room.

“Cover me!” Though confused, the two teens thankfully obeyed him as he rushed into the room.

Richard was flickering in and out of sight, but when Superboy touched him, it was obvious that he was only flickering in and out of the visible spectrum. He was solid the entire time.

“What did they do to you?” He murmured, before yanking off the medical cords, IV, and metal cuffs and scooping him up. “Wake up.”

Richard didn’t respond to the movement or Superboy’s voice, worrying him. He could still hear the boy’s heartbeat though, which was the most important part.

He cursed slightly when he saw his new comrades fighting a bunch of genomorphs.

“Not enough time! Come on!” He broke a path through the genomorphs with his strength, only glancing back once to make sure the two teens were following him.

“Why are we following his orders?” The younger one hissed.

“Doesn’t matter whose orders as long as we get out.” The older one replied.

They made it to sub-level one before a giant metal door cut off their access to the street.

Soon after, they had to fight a transformed Dr. Desmond. It was during this fight that a small voice reached Superboy’s ears.

“The supper beams.”

Superboy glanced towards where he had hidden Richard. The boy was still flickering, but standing, leaning against the wall just outside the hiding place.

Superboy dove to catch him as he lost his balance and fell.

Richard coughed violently before weakly stating his plan.

Superboy nodded. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

Richard coughed again as he hid, barely keeping himself in the visible spectrum.

The plan worked perfectly. Once complete, Superboy dove to protect Richard from the collapsing ceiling, while the bigger of the two teenage boys protected the smaller one.

When the damage was done, and the rumbling stopped, Superboy shoved some debris off of them. Then, he froze. He could only hear two heartbeats besides his own near him.

So, while the redheaded smaller teen yabbered about keeping promises (moon and Superman), Superboy spun to face Richard, who had thankfully stopped flickering but was no longer breathing.

“Richard?” No response. “Richard!” By now the Justice League was landing around them. Tattoo older teen took notice of Superboy’s distress, pushed him aside, and started CPR on Richard.

Richard took a gasping breath after about a minute and a half of CPR and rescue breathing. In the blink of an eye, he was gone, a gust of wind the only remainder.

It took a moment for Superboy’s mind to catch up with the events. He started panicking and shouting once he did.

“Superboy! Superboy! It’s okay! Flash took him to a hospital! They’ll treat him and stuff! Make him better!” Redheaded younger teen exclaimed.

Superboy turned on him, anxiety clear in his eyes. He hadn’t until this moment realized how much he cared about Richard and how much he wanted the boy to make it out alive.

“Kid Flash is telling the truth. Flash will make sure your friend gets the best treatment possible. I can’t promise you anything, but we can take you to him once we figure out some logistics,” A woman in a blue jacket told him.

Superboy wanted to argue, but stopped himself.

He didn’t know where they had taken Richard. These people were the only ones who knew. If he complied with their demands, he’d be able to see Richard. He had to trust they would take care of the boy until Superboy could get to him.

Hesitantly, he yielded.


	11. July 6th, 2010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jason Todd/ Red Hood - 17

Jason stared at the police station from an adjacent alleyway, clutching a flash drive in his fist. He knew the police would never update him on their search for Richard, so he broke in every few weeks to nab any data that could possibly contain leads on the boy’s location.

Sighing, he lowered his hand and his eyes. There hadn’t been further leads on Dick’s location in over a year and a half. Why did he even bother anymore?

He forced back tears. He would not cry. He wouldn’t let himself. He looked again at the police station. This would be his last try. If there were no leads, he would give up.

Unwillingly, his eyes traveled from the police station to a television store nearby. The news anchor was reporting on the collapse of a genetics lab in DC. Suspicions were high that the Justice League sidekicks had helped cause the collapse while fighting a weird creature.

Jason scoffed. What good were the Justice League sidekicks? He bet he could beat their behinds any day.

But still, something inside of him pushed him to investigate this incident. A genetics lab that got the League involved? Something fishy was going on.

“You’re not a hero!” He hissed to himself. “Stop thinking like one!”

He swiftly completed his mission, not noticing he had subconsciously downloaded all information on Project Cadmus as well until later.

He stared at the information. Looked like he was headed to DC.


	12. July 7th, 2010 part one

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Superboy - 35 weeks  
> Wally West - 15

“This is the address Uncle Barry gave me.” Wally and Superboy stared up at the looming children’s hospital. “Supposedly, he’s in the ward for coma patients.”

Superboy started forward. “Let’s go find him then.” 

Wally trailed after him as they searched for the coma ward. Once they found the correct ward, they had to search every bed not surrounded by patients’ family members for Richard. Eventually, they did find him. His hair stuck out as the only dark thing about him. Everything else was pale or white. He looked smaller than Wally remembered from his brief glimpse of him during the Cadmus debacle. The bed practically engulfed him; it was so big and he was so small.

“Richard?” Superboy barely spoke above a whisper, echoing Wally’s sentiment that a gust of wind would blow the fragile boy away.

Richard’s eyelashes fluttered briefly, but he didn’t open his eyes.

Wally dared not touch the kid, but Superboy took his hand with a gentleness Wally had not yet seen from him.

At a normal human jog, Wally fetched a chair from across the room and brought it for Superboy to sit in. “Here. We might be here a while.”

Superboy glanced at him and sat down, still holding Richard’s hand. “Thanks.”

Time seemed to pass slowly as they sat with Richard. Wally couldn’t stop fidgeting.

“You know, you can go. I’ll be fine here without you.” Superboy told him, not looking at him. “Just come back at the end of visiting hours.”

“Are you sure? I mean, I can stay…”

“Go for a run. I’m not leaving anytime soon.”

Wally nodded. “I’ll be back around 8 then.”

Superboy waved him off, his attention still focused on Richard. He settled in for a long wait.


	13. July 7th, 2010 part two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red Hood - 17  
> Kid Flash - 15

It had been easy to sneak past the construction workers into the underground facility. Getting to a computer terminal without being noticed was a little harder. Still, Red Hood managed it and downloaded data on all their experiments. He then slipped out, all without being caught.

A safe distance away, he poured over the data.

His eye caught on one particular file folder. Not knowing what drew him to it, he opened the most recent document in the folder.

_ Subject 36 _

_ Human male _

_ Subject description: black hair, blue eyes, age 13 _

_ Experiment description: two injections of specially prepared chemical mixture, electric shocks at varying intervals, repeat for each day until ability manifests. _

_ Goal: to induce metahuman abilities on a human with no metagene _

_ Results: Ability has manifested. Subject greatly weakened by the process. Subject must be closely monitored to ensure survival. _

Red Hood was frozen, staring at the document. It couldn’t be, could it? After a few moments of staring, he rooted through the file folder for an image of the subject.

It was unmistakable. He had found Dick.

But was he still there, or had the League already gotten him out?

As much as Red Hood wanted to burst in there and get Dick out immediately, he didn’t know what part of the facility he was being kept in or whether he was even still there at all. A rescue mission would be more difficult to complete undetected than stealing data from a computer terminal.

But the sidekicks had already been in there. Not that a kidnapping would be any less risky.

Honestly, how was he supposed to gather information from the Justice League without kidnapping someone?

Not to mention, the little red-haired sidekick he found wasn’t supposed to be running around DC in tights anyways probably. It wasn’t his home turf.

Kid Flash glared at him. “Just you wait until I get out of these ropes. I’ll kick your butt!”

“They’re friction-proof. Good luck.” Red Hood placed himself uncomfortably close to Kid Flash. “I have some questions. Answer them, and I might let you go.”

“Why should I tell you anything?”

“When you were in Cadmus, did you find a black-haired boy?”

“How’d you…”

“Answer the question or I’ll break your leg! Then you won’t be going anywhere!”

Kid Flash gulped. “Y-yeah. We found one.”

“He’s in Justice League custody then.”

“Well…” Red Hood kicked the sidekick’s leg almost hard enough to break it, certainly hard enough to damage the muscles. “Ack! No! He’s somewhere else! But we’re keeping an eye on him! Making sure he’s safe!”

Red Hood smirked. “That’s all I needed to know. Not hard to pick out his location from there.”

Kid Flash glared at him again. “If he’s not still there tomorrow morning, the League will hunt you down.”

“I’m not worried. I’ll be long gone by then.” Red Hood turned and walked away, not bothering to untie the sidekick. He’d be fine. Flash probably had trackers on him or something.

Now to find where the League had hidden Dick.


	14. July 7th, 2010 part three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Superboy - 35 weeks  
> Jason Todd/Red Hood - 17

It was now ten pm. Two hours after Wally was supposed to have been back. Superboy was starting to think the other boy had forgotten about him, or that something had happened to the speedster.

He shoved his hands in his pant pockets and looked around. A boy with brunette hair with a white strip in it was watching him. Superboy narrowed his eyes.

“Who are you?”

The boy raised an eyebrow. “I could ask you the same question.”

“I’m Superboy.” Superboy realized after saying it that giving away his identity so easily was not a good idea.

“Hmm. You waiting for that speedster kid?”

It took a moment for the words to process. “What did you do to him?!”

“Relax. Kid’s fine. Frustrated, probably, but unharmed.”

“Who  _ are _ you?”

The boy tilted his head.“I go by Red Hood. Help me with something, and I’ll tell you where the baby speedster is.”

“Third floor, ward C, bed five.” Superboy blurted out once he recognized who he was talking to. Red Hood swiveled to look him in the eyes, surprise evident on his face. “He told me about you. When we were stuck in Cadmus together. Asked me to tell you ‘the wings of a bird have broken.’ Whatever that means.”

“He still remembers the message.” Red Hood looked pale. “Did he think he wasn’t going to make it out?”

“Judging by the fact he’s in a coma right now, I doubt he believed he would.”

Red Hood looked away. His features seemed to darken. “Did he ever mention anything… about a man named Bruce?”

“Bruce was the man who hurt him, from what I gather. He would come to Cadmus specifically to rape him. Richard described it as traumatizing. How he knew that word while still struggling with English is beyond me.”

Red Hood stood up. “Thank you for the information. I’ll handle taking down Bruce. You just take care of Richard, okay? Protect him. You seem to care for him, so I’m trusting you to keep him safe.” He started walking away, throwing over his shoulder. “Baby Speedster’s in a warehouse a block east of the Hall of Justice. If he hasn’t been found yet, that is.”

Superboy stood and, with one last glance towards Red Hood’s retreating form, hurried towards the warehouse where Wally was tied up.


	15. July 9th, 2010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Commissioner Gordon - 48  
> Red Hood - 17

Commissioner Gordon was exhausted. Batman had given him the slip. Again.

Of course, there was never a time the man didn’t give the Commissioner the slip, but a policeman could dream.

He collapsed into his desk chair, wishing he didn’t have to write a report on this.

Something taped to his desktop screen caught his tired eyes.

It was a flash drive, with a folded note.

He untaped it and unfolded the note.

_ Dear Commissioner, _

_ I doubt you remember my deal from a couple years ago. I found Richard and he’s currently under trusted protection. I know you weren’t the one to find him, but regardless, here is the evidence against Batman and his alter ego. Please make the arrest soon. Batman knows this footage came from Richard, but he thinks the only copy was destroyed. If he discovers a copy still exists while free, he will surely go after him, and possibly me too. To keep Richard safe, watch the footage and make the arrest immediately. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Red Hood _

Commissioner Gordon blinked once. Then twice. Then, he plugged the flash drive into his computer and watched the amateurly recorded footage.


	16. July 10th, 2010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Superboy- 36 weeks  
> Richard “Dick” Grayson - 13  
> Bruce Wayne - 31

Superboy was not prepared to see anyone familiar, besides Richard or someone affiliated with the Justice League, in the hospital when he showed up to visit Richard.

At the same time, despite his horror, he wasn’t really surprised that Bruce had found Richard. They hadn’t taken him out of the city Cadmus was located in after all.

That didn’t mean he was about to let the man take Richard away.

He marched right between Bruce and the nurse he was arguing with. “Leave.”

The man arched an eyebrow. “Is that any way to address a billionaire?”

“It’s a way to address a pedophile! Leave or I’ll punch your face in!” Superboy was not in the mood to play games. He ignored the gasp from the nurse at his accusation.

“Do that, and I could have you arrested for assault.” Bruce replied calmly, eyes analyzing Superboy’s stance.

“Stay away from Richard!”

“Why should I stay away from him? He’s my ward and he’s been missing for years. I’ve been very worr…”

“Bullshit! You knew where he was the entire time!”

“I can dispute that claim. But it seems it applies to you.”

“I was trapped there! You could come and go as you pleased!”

“Do you have any proof?”

“Richard’s word is all the proof I need.”

“So you have no proof. How do you expect the boy to testify that you’re telling the truth when he is in a coma.”

“Leave him alone!”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave, kid. It sounds like I’ll need to place a restraining order against you as well.”

“I’m not going anywhere! Stay away from Richard!”

“Mr. Wayne, kid, I’ll need to ask you to take this outside.” The nurse cut in.

Bruce turned back to the nurse. “I thought I made myself clear. I’m not leaving before I get Richard released or transferred to a hospital in Gotham.”

“He’s too weak to travel at the moment.”

“My decision is made.”

“He could die before he gets that far!”

“You’re not taking him anywhere!”

“What is going on here?!” The three arguers fell silent as the hospital director approached them. “This is a hospital. Raised voices are not welcome here.”

“Perhaps you can process my request.” Bruce was the first to speak up. “I would like to move my ward to a hospital in Gotham where I can visit him more frequently. Your nurse refuses to accommodate.”

“Most coma patients are too weak to handle travel that far a distance. Richard is no exception. He cannot be moved until he wakes up, or at the very least is strong enough to endure the transfer.” The director said. “I apologize, Mr. Wayne, but your request is far too risky. You’ll have to be patient and wait for him to regain his strength.”

Bruce pursed his lips. “We’ll see about that.” He stalked off, pulling out his phone.

“Don’t let that man take him.” Superboy said. “He’s a pedophile, and he’s traumatized Richard. Richard told me that before he fell into the coma.”

“That’s a serious accusation, kid.” The director said.

“It’s a true statement. I’m not going to let him hurt Richard again.” He sat stubbornly in the chair next to Richard’s bed.

Bruce stormed back into the room. Whoever he’d spoken with on the phone apparently hadn’t said what he wanted to hear.

He grabbed the hospital director by the cuff of his shirt.

“I’m transferring Richard. Now.”

“We can’t…” A flash of metal and then a handgun was digging into the director’s chin. “Okay. Understood.”

Superboy stood and moved between Richard and the angry man.

“You’re not taking him anywhere.”

“Out of my way or I’ll shoot you.”

“Try it. You’re not taking him anywhere.”

The nurse screamed when the gun went off. Superboy barely flinched when the bullet bounced off him.

Growling, Bruce lunged for Richard, but Superboy easily blocked him.

They engaged in a fistfight, Bruce trying everything in his power to get to Richard and Superboy blocking his every attempt.

The other families in the ward huddled around their own kids, daring not leave them.

Finally, the police arrived and pulled Bruce and Superboy apart.

“Keep him away from Richard! He’ll hurt him!” Superboy exclaimed.

“Oh, we will. There’s a warrant out for his arrest,” an officer told him quietly as the other police tried to subdue Bruce Wayne.

They got the gun away from him, but he managed to escape and, pulling out another gun, shot at Richard multiple times.

Superboy dove to block the bullets.

When he looked back, Bruce had fled.

Only one bullet had gotten past him. It was imbedded in Richard’s waist.

The hospital staff were quick to whisk him into surgery to treat it.

They insisted on checking Superboy too, but, upon discovery Superboy was completely unharmed, focused on Richard.

Superboy waited impatiently for Richard to get out of surgery. He didn’t like not being near him. What if Bruce forced his way in and killed the boy?

The more he thought about, the more anxious and angry he got.

It was getting late. Superboy was supposed to have been back at Mount Justice by now. He dared not leave.

It was nearly ten pm when Richard got out of surgery.

“What took so long?”

“There were some… complications. Don’t worry. He’ll be alright. He’s still quite weak though. We’re moving him to a private room to protect him. Follow me.”

Superboy followed the nurse to a private room on the topmost floor. There were no windows leading outside in Richard’s new room. The only way in or out was the doorway, unless you broke the solid window to the right of the door. Superboy wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but at least it would be harder for someone to get in without permission.

He fell asleep next to Richard’s bed.


	17. July 11th, 2010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Superboy - 36 weeks  
> Kid Flash - 15  
> Miss Martian - 16 (human years)  
> Aqualad - 16  
> Richard “Dick” Grayson - 13

“ _ I found him _ .” Miss Martian called telepathically to Kid Flash and Aqualad.  _ “Top floor. Room 785 _ .”

She gently touched Superboy on the shoulder. He woke with a start.

“Oh. M’gann. Um… good morning?”

Kid Flash sped into the room. Aqualad joined a few moments later.

“We were worried when you didn’t return last night, Superboy.”

Superboy looked at Richard. “There was an incident. I managed to protect him, but a bullet got past me. I couldn’t leave until I knew he was safe. I must have fallen asleep shortly after he got out of surgery.”

The other three exchanged glances.

“Richard is lucky to have you watching out for him.” Aqualad placed a hand on his shoulder. “You can spend as much time here as you need to. We’ll handle any dissent from the League on that front.”

Superboy nodded slowly, eyes still on Richard. “Thank you.” After a moment’s thought, he looked up and added, “I’m worried Bruce will try something else. Whether related to Richard or not. He’s a dangerous man.”

“We’ll keep an eye out,” Kid Flash confirmed.

“You just focus on being here for Richard,” Aqualad agreed.


	18. July 14th, 2010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Commissioner Gordon - 48  
> Barbara Gordon - 13  
> Batman - 31

It should’ve just been a normal dinner with his daughter, Barbara. Normal food. Normal conversation. Normal evening.

It turned into the opposite the moment Batman crashed in through the window.

He shot the Commissioner in the waist and stalked towards Barbara, who was trying to dial the police, terrified.

Batman shot the cell phone out of her hand and grabbed her by the wrist.

“Barbara!” Commissioner Gordon shouted, but Barbara was too frightened, and soon too unconscious, to respond. “Let her go, you bastard!”

Batman growled. “Your daughter’s mine now.”

That said, he swooped out the window and disappeared into the night. Gone before the precinct even knew something was happening.


	19. July 15th, 2010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Batman - 31  
> Red Hood - 17  
> Barbara Gordon - 13

It was two am, but Red Hood wasn’t ready to call it a night yet.

Rumor had it Batman was planning to skip town. Red Hood planned to be on that plane when it flew. No way was he letting Batman get away with his crimes, especially those concerning Richard.

Finding the plane wasn’t as hard as sneaking aboard without being seen. Eventually, he made it on, hiding behind a bunch of boxes.

He didn’t know where the plane was going, but when he heard Batman get on, grumbling, he decided it didn’t matter.

He’d bring down that rapist if his life depended on it.

* * *

 

Red Hood banged his head against the wall. How could he have messed this up so completely?

He’d been found out five hours into the plane ride and immediately gotten sedated. Now he was in a prison cell with a red-headed girl Dick’s age. How was he supposed to take down Batman now?

“You know, banging your head against the wall isn’t going to change the fact you got yourself caught,” The redhead chided softly.

“What are we supposed to do? Wait around for someone to rescue us?” Red Hood grumbled.

“Well, yeah. My dad is the police commissioner. He’ll find us.”

“We’re thousands of miles from Gotham. Were you sedated the entire plane ride?”

The girl’s surprised face answered for her. She hadn’t known they’d gone on a plane at all.

“We’ll figure something out.” The girl murmured. “I’m Barbara.”

“Red Hood,” Red Hood grumbled. “I’m going to take down that bastard. Somehow, someway, he’s gonna pay.”


	20. August 27th, 2010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Superboy - 43 weeks  
> Richard “Dick” Grayson - 13

Dick’s eyes flickered around, taking in the room around him. Was he still in Cadmus? It wasn’t unlikely. There was only one window in the room. It looked out on the hallway, where people in lab coats were bustling to and fro.

He looked at his hands. They were flickering in and out of sight. As he stared at them, they disappeared and stayed invisible. That scared him. What was happening to him?

A nurse entered the room and froze. “Richard’s gone!”

Dick wanted to say, no. He wasn’t gone. But there was something in his throat and he couldn’t speak. So instead he just watched the doctors and nurses panic, feeling increasingly panicked himself.

* * *

 

Superboy grumbled as he made his way down the halls of the hospital. The Clayface mission had been a disaster. He hoped ranting about it to Richard, even if the boy probably couldn’t hear him, would help his mood.

Unfortunately, he was met with bad news.

“Gone?!” He sped up and entered Richard’s hospital room. He’d had a little practice with tuning out what he didn’t want to hear, but it was still difficult for him. Fortunately, he could still hear the panicked heartbeat focused in Richard’s room, a heartbeat that calmed a little seeing him. “Richard, are you still here?”

He could barely hear a choked sound coming from the direction of the bed.

Superboy hurried over there. His hands landed on an arm right where an arm should be, but it was invisible.

“Hey. You need to calm down, okay? It’s going to be alright. We’re not in Cadmus anymore. This is a hospital. You’ve been in a coma since we escaped. Do you remember escaping?”

The arm shifted slightly. Superboy ran his hand down to Richard’s fingers. “Lift two fingers for yes, one for no. Do you remember getting out?”

One finger. Okay. He could work with that. “Do you know what Cadmus did to you?”

One finger. Then two. Then one. So he wasn’t a hundred percent sure. Okay. “Do you think you can turn visible again?”

One finger. Uh oh. That could be a problem. “Don’t worry. We’ll find a way to turn you visible again. It’s going to be okay.”

Richard responded with two fingers, a sign he trusted Superboy. Then, miraculously, he flickered back into view.

“See? Look. You’re visible again. You’re going to be fine.”

Richard smiled softly. Soon, the doctors returned and were able to remove the tube down his throat so he could talk again.

Although he flickered a couple more times, the doctors mostly checked him off as okay, or as okay as someone who’d just woken from a coma could be.

“You need to stay another couple nights for observation. Then, we can let you go.” The doctor told Richard.

“He stays?” Richard motioned to Superboy weakly.

“If his parent or guardian is okay with it, it’s fine with us.”

“I’ll call them,” Superboy assured when Richard looked at him. “They’ll be fine with it, I’m sure.”

He noticed he’d confused Richard, who probably thought he didn’t have a parent or guardian. A wink reassured the boy.

Superboy left the room to call Black Canary, who assured him he was fine to stay and that she’d be by the next day to discuss Richard’s future living arrangements, for when he was released from the hospital.

“They’re fine with it,” he told the doctor. “They’ll be by tomorrow as well.”

The doctor dipped his head and went to check on other patients while Superboy returned to Richard’s hospital room.

“Hey. I’m going to stay here with you, okay? It’s going to be all right.”

“Thanks, Supes.” Richard smiled quietly.

“Supes?”

“Nickname. Is… that okay?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Do you have a nickname?”

“My Mami and Tati called me Dick. Red Hood knows that nickname too.” He hesitated. “Does Red Hood…?”

“I gave him your message. Haven’t heard from him in a while though.” Worry entered Richard’s eyes, so Superboy quickly reassured him, “I’m sure he’s fine. Red Hood’s strong.”

Richard nodded slowly, but in a way that showed he didn’t really believe him. “Okay.”

“So… you want me to call you Dick?”

“Yes, please.”

“Okay, Dick. How about we play a game?”

“Okay.” Superboy distracted the boy with games until he fell asleep. He couldn’t help but wonder internally though. Where was Red Hood? Why hadn’t he checked in on Dick? Something was surely wrong, but he couldn’t let on to Dick about that, especially considering how much the kid clearly cared for the older boy.

Hopefully, everything was okay.


	21. August 30th, 2010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Superboy - 43 weeks  
> Richard “Dick” Grayson - 13  
> Black Canary/Dinah Lance - 24  
> Wonder Woman/Diana Prince - 85  
> Red Tornado - 62  
> M’gann M’orzz - 16 (human years)

“I’ll live here? With Superboy?” Richard’s small voice reached M’gann’s ears from where she sat in the Living Room.

“Yes. While Wonder Woman lives in DC and will be your legal guardian, you will live here. Eventually, we’ll enroll you in school in DC, but you’ll use the Zeta to get there. Here is safer for you. With the security measures we’ve put in place, you’re less likely to get attacked here.”

“My apartment doesn’t have the safety measures the mountain does. Plus, I won’t be home all the time. Here, you’ll have Red Tornado present 24/7 and Superboy and Miss Martian living with you. They can protect you should anything go wrong.”

“It’s safe? Batman won’t find me?”

“You’re as safe here as we can possibly make you.”

“Come on. Let’s go find M’gann. She’s played tour guide before.”

M’gann stood up at Superboy’s suggestion. They were getting closer to her.

The first thing M’gann recognized when they entered the room was how tiny Richard looked next to Superboy. It didn’t help that his action of hiding behind the clone made him look smaller.

She put on a smile and walked over, resisting the urge to float. She didn’t want to intimidate the child, after all.

“Hi. You must be Richard.” She held her hand out, pushing back the urge to frown when he shied away from her. “I’m M’gann, but you can call me Megan. It’s nice to meet you.”

Superboy gently nudged Richard towards her with an encouraging smile.

“It’s… nice to meet you too.” Richard shook her outstretched hand and then made to hide behind Superboy again, but the physiologically older boy wouldn’t let him.

“Don’t be shy. M’gann won’t hurt you,” Superboy said. “Nobody affiliated with the Justice League will hurt you, okay? M’gann falls into that category.”

Richard nodded slowly while M’gann and Superboy continued to smile at him.

“We’ll show you around. Come on.” M’gann nodded at the three Justice League members watching from the doorway as she and Superboy passed them, Richard trailing behind while clutching Superboy’s hand.


	22. September 3rd, 2010

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red Hood -18  
> Barbara -13

“You picked a good night for an escape attempt,” Barbara whispered. “They’re completely distracted by something or other.”

“We’ll figure out what they’re distracted by later. For now, we need to get out of the building to the authorities.” Red Hood adjusted Barbara’s weight on his back. The girl had a broken ankle in an attempt to discourage escape attempts, but Red Hood refused to leave her behind.

Nobody deserved to be Batman’s pet. And Barbara was around Dick’s current age. Red Hood would be damned before leaving any kid behind for Batman.

They somehow made it out without being caught, just to face another dilemma.

“A fucking desert?! You gotta be kidding me!”

“Language,” Barbara chided from his back, but it was obvious in her voice that she was worried about this new development too.

“Looks like we’re picking a direction and sticking to it. We’ll have to find a way out of this desert eventually.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the beginning of a work I've been working on for a while. Some chapters will be shorter than others, but they all have dates.


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